Pumpkin+ Pie Recipe
Okay! As promised, the crazy recipe that took me all week to put together:
TOOLS:
-a good cutting knife -a potato peeler or paring knife -a can opener -a large mixing bowl -a very large holding bowl -a pot and steamer basket -a food processor -a hand blender -a cheese grater -measuring spoons and measuring cups -a large stirring spoon -a good scooping spoon
INGREDIENTS:
Fruits: -1 pie pumpkin -1 buttercup squash -1 butternut squash -1 acorn squash -1 small ghost pumpkin -1 small decorative pumpkin -1 large slice of fairytale pumpkin -7 small decorative gourds -1 large sweet potato -1 turnip -1 container of cubed rutabaga -7 cobs of peaches and cream sweet corn -1 large carrot -1 large purple heirloom carrot -2 small red heirloom carrots -1 large yellow heirloom carrot -2 small orange heirloom carrots -1 mutsu apple -1 pink lady apple -1 anjou pear -1 bosc pear
Nuts (all unsalted, no shells): -1 handful of almonds -1 handful of Brazil nuts -1 handful of cashews -1 handful of chestnuts -1 handful of hazelnuts -1 handful of macadamia nuts -1 handful of pecans -1 handful of pine nuts -1 handful of pistachios -1 handful of pumpkin seeds -1 handful of sunflower seeds -1 handful of walnuts
Spices: -1 tbsp ground allspice -1 tbsp ground cardamom -1 tbsp ground cinnamon -1 tbsp ground cloves -1 tbsp grated or ground ginger -1 tbsp ground nutmeg
Other: -Canadian whisky (at least 1 bottle) -evaporated milk (1 can per every 2 pies you intend to make; unsweetened) -dark honey (several jars at least) -pie shells (enough for as many pies as you intend to make/have room for) -large eggs (at least a carton of 12)
Directions:
Preparation of Puree: -Gut and peel all your squashes/pumpkins/gourds and your turnip (get them already cubed if you can; the seeds are all edible, though, so you can set them aside and do something else with them) -Remove any bad bits from the sweet potato, carrots, apples, and pears, but do not peel them! -Cut up all of your squashes/pumpkins/gourds, your sweet potato, turnip, rutabaga, and carrots into small but not tiny pieces -Put them in the steaming basket (best to put some on to steam while you're peeling/cutting up the rest) -Blend the steamed fruits in the food processor until smooth as it will get -Core and cut up your apples and pears -Scrape the sweet corn off the cobs -Add them to the food processor to blend -You will not have enough room in the food processor for all of this, so have your large holding bowl to dump it into when it gets too full; you can mix it all together with a large wooden spoon -Rinse and dry the food processor -Blend up your nuts -Add them to the holding bowl and mix them in well -Add each of your spices and mix in well
Making the Filling: -In a large mixing bowl, scoop 2 cups of your mixture -Add a 12 oz (354ml) can of evaporated milk -Add 2/3 a cup of dark honey -Add 3 and 1/2 tbsp Canadian whisky -Use your hand-blender until the mixture is homogenous; you'll find any stubborn chunks that the food processor couldn't pulverize will be dealt with here -Add 2 large eggs -Whisk in (if you use the blender for this it will get very bubbly, so I don't recommend that) -Pour into 2 pie shells (don't worry if it seems overfull or runny; it's supposed to be at this stage)
Cooking: -Preheat the oven to 218C (425F) -Once oven is ready, place pie(s) on pie pan and bake for 15 minutes -Lower the temperature to 177C (350F) and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until you stick the knife in the centre and it comes out clean -Remove pie and let cool -Once cooled, move to the fridge and let sit overnight -In the morning, slice and serve!
Notes:
-You can use any squashes, root vegetables, and other fall fruits you want; just keep in mind taste and consistency. I chose the ones I did because they steam well, mash well, have at least some natural sweetness to them, and most are at least somewhat starchy. -If you don't have enough room in the oven to bake more than a couple pies at a time, you can skip the initial bake of 15 minutes at 218C/425F and just go with 177C/350F for 50 minutes. -This will be a TON of puree, so great if you're intending to make a ridiculous number of pies to serve a lot of people; kind of insane if you live alone. Not to worry! I will be making muffins and cookies and will post those recipes too. -You can use extra spices; I would have added mace, for example, if I'd been able to find it. I've heard some people use black pepper, too, so that might be interesting. -If you'd prefer to use sugar over honey, you can do that. I would recommend brown, or straight cane sugar, same amount as the honey or even less. -You could use bourbon, scotch, or any other type of whisky, doesn't have to be the same one I used. -If you don't mind your pies having nut chunks in them, you don't need a hand-blender, but you really really do, or else a very good regular blender, otherwise. -They say if you don't want the pie to have a cracked top you have to avoid over-baking, but they also say that it's ready when the knife comes out clean. I have not found it is possible to do both. A cracked top does not affect the taste or consistency, so don't worry about it.
Enjoy!
